Composite material.



Patented Mar. 25, I902.

1;. KELLY. COMPOSITE MATERIAL.

(Application filed Jan. 15, 1901.)

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(No Iudel.)

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'No. 696,343. Patented Mar. 25, I902.

G. KELLY.

COMPOSITE MATERIAL. (Application filed Jan. 15, 1901.) (lloIodeL) 2-Shaets$heei 2.

UNITE. TATES 'ATn r FFICE.

COM POSITE MATERIAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 696,343, dated March 25, 1902. Application filed January 16, 1901. Serial NOASAZO. (N0 specimens.)

To all whom it'may concern;

Be it known that I, GEORGE KELLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mineralpoint, in the county of Iowa and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Cornposite Material, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to the production of what may be termed a composite material having soft spongy elastic prop-" erties and applicable for use in the manufacture of a wide variety of articles.

The object of the invention is to produce a composite material having a soft spongy selfsustaining structure throughout and having a facing or envelop of fibrous material held in place with great tenacity by a filler-core or substrata ot' matted burs, which by reason of their rough prickly character adhere with great tenacity to each other and to the vegetable or mineral fiber constituting the outer layer or facing of the material.

In the accompanyingdrawings, in which several embodiments of the invention are illustrated, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mattress constructed in accordance with my invention and broken away at one corner to disclose the structure of the composite material; Fig. 2 is adetail sectional view, ona somewhat-enlarged scale, through a portion of the mattress illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig.

is a perspective View, with parts broken away;

for instance, paper-as distinguished from the loose fibrous layers illustratedin the preceding figures. Fig.-9 is a View of a cocklebur.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have illustrated a mat tress 5, comprising the usual tufted covering 6 and a filler or stuffing of composite material produced in accordance with my present invention. The surface or outer layers of the filler o'r stuffiug comprehend sheets of loose but preferably closely-packed" fiber-as, for

instance, cotton and flan-constituting the upper and lower layers '7' and 8, as shown, and united by an intermediate layer, core, or binder of matted burs, or, as shown in Fig. 2, two separate layers or mats of burs 9 and 10 may be employed with an intermediate fibrous layer 11 of tow or the like.

The essential characteristic of the invention is the employment of a'core, filler, binder, or substrata of burs in matted form, and it is essential to the accomplishment of inyprimary object that the bins .employed'be possessed of such great adhesive strength as to cling with great tenacity one to the other and to the fibrous material imposed upon the inat thus formed.

The bur which I have found to be most efficient for the formation of the adhesive mat or core is that known by the term cockle. This bur is the rough prickly seed vessel or globular involucre of the burdocka coarse biennial weedheretofore considered valueless and distinguished from other burs by tenta-' cles which are too flexible for protrusion through the fibrous layer and have hooked extremities which actually effect a positive engageinent between contacting burs and also positively engage the fibers imposed upon the mat. Itwill therefore appear thatwhile burs other than cockle maybe employed in some connections the cockle is best adapted for the formation of the mat or core in the production of my composite material. 1

- In constructing thfe'mattress illustrated in Figs. 1 and'2 a mat of'burs is first formed, and upon one side thereof is spread in any suitable man nerthe sheet or layerof flax S. The mat is then inverted, and upon its upper side is similarlyimpos'ed thelayer 11 of tow fiber. Upon this :in turn another layer or mat of burs is imposed, and after the stuffing .is completed bythe imposition of the final layer 7 of cotton the covering is drawn to place and tufted in a manner well understood in the art. i

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a further embodiment ofthe inventionto wit, what may be termed a flexible felt sheet 12, comprising a mat 13 of cockle or other burs enveloped by a covering or envelop 14 of vegetable fiber.

These felt sheets may be rolled down, pressed, stitched, or otherwise supplementally treated to produce a sheet of flexible sheathing capable of being rolled 11p and well adapted for the insulation of cars, cold-storage plants, or refrigerators where exceedingly expensive insulations of hair felt are in general use.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a tubular en-' Velop or pipe-covering formed from my composite material, the fibrous facings of which may be formed of vegetable fiber where the covering is intended for the insulation of cold pipes or may be mineral fiberas, for instance, mineral wool, asbestos, and the likeif the covering is designed for the insulation of heated conduits or pipes.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a sheet of fireproof felt comprising the cockle or other bur mat 13 and a fireproof envelop or facing 15 of mineral fiber.

Another connection in which the composite material may be employed to great advantage is in the production of lubricating material or waste wickssuch, for instance, as are used by railroads for lubrication within the journal-boxes of cars. For this purpose flax fiber is being largely used, and sheeps woolis employed to some extent. Horsehair and sponge are generally considered as the best lubricating materials, for the reason that both of them are durable, produce a proper feed of oil, and are suificiently self-sustaining to remain for a long period in contact with the surface to be lubricated. This is also a characteristic of flax fiber; but each of these materials, as well as sheeps wool,is expensive.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings I have shown in section'a wad or wick for lubricating purposes, comprising the cockle core 16, which is of spongy elastic formation and of insignificant cost and retains in self-sustaining form a covering 17 of any of the above-named materials, thereby greatly reducing the cost of the resulting wick by necessitating the employment of a comparatively small body of flax, wool, hair, or other fiber.

The bur mat or web, while it has a particular aifinity for fibrous materials, is well adapted for use as a light spongy core for materials of other classes. For instance, in Fig. 7 I have shown a brick or block comprising a core 18 of burs and a covering or facing 19 of anysuitable composition-as, for instance, pIaster-of-paris, magnesia, or the likewhich may be molded around the prickly core to produce a cheap porous block. In this connection, as well as in others, a filler of any suitable material may be employed to fill up the interstices throughout the structure of the mat or web; but in most cases this filler will not be found necessary. The core is also well adapted for the retention of fibrous layers-as, for instance, paper-which have been reduced to an exceedingly compact body by pressure. A sheet of this character is illustrated in Fig. 8, in which 20 represents the cockle core or body, and 21 and 22 the paper facings. This sheet is well adapted for use as a carpet-felt or floor-deadener or may be made into large sheets and employed in buildingoperations asasubstitute for laths. When such use of the material'is made, it would only be necessary to employ a few laths here and there to hold the material in place, the paper or felt facing constituting an excellent plastering-surface and making it possible to dispense with the hair, which is now ordinarily employed with mortar in building.

I shall not undertake to enumerate all of the various uses to which this composite material may be put, because it is evident that it may be employed wherever a light bodyis desired or in the manufacture of any elastic mat, support, or cushion irrespective of the particular character or usefulness of the article. I therefore desire my invention to be understood, broadly, as residing in the utilization of matted burs as a substrata or binder for any character of imposed layer or facing which may be adhesively retained and supported by the mat, and in a somewhat more specific aspect the invention resides in the production of a composite material by combining with a mat, layer, core, or binder of burs a facing, covering, or envelop of fibrous material, either vegetable, mineral, or any combination of vegetable or mineral fibers, or both.

What I claim is- 1. A composite material made up of a body of matted burs, and a body of loose but closely-packed fiber in adhesive union therewith.

2. The combination with a composite material made up of a body of matted burs and a body of loose but closely-packed fiber in adhesive union therewith, of a flexible cover inclosin g the composite material thus formed.

3. A composite material made up of facings of loose but closely-packed fiber, and an intermediate filler or core of matted burs in adhesive union with the fibrous facings.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE KELLY.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, E. G. SIGGERS.

IIO 

